GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer right in your IDE. By learning how to use GitHub Copilot you can increase your productivity.
In this article we cover 12 amazing features of GitHub Copilot. For a video walkthrough check out the video linked at the bottom of the article.
Real Time Suggestions
As you type code into your IDE Github copilot will give you suggestions in the form of ghost text. When this text appears you can choose to accept it, cycle through different options or decline it.
Inline Chat
The inline chat allows you to ask Copilot to modify code in the current open file.
Voice Input
There is something satisfying about being able to communicate with your IDE verbally to complete a task. With the inline chat open click the microphone button and ask copilot a question or to perform a task on the open file.
Test Generation Command
Not only can you ask Copilot to generate tests for you but you can do it quicker by using the /tests command. You can ask it to generate tests for an entire file or a single function.
Documentation Generation Command
Documentation can be easily generated by using the /doc command
Fix Errors Command
With the /fix command you can ask Github copilot to find and fix issues.
Explain Command
Working on a new code base you that you don't understand? Problem solved you can use the /explain command to explain how the code works. Highlight the code you want explain and ask in the inline chat or ask it to explain the entire file.
Chat Panel
The chat panel is an interactive chat where you can ask questions back and forth with GitHub Copilot. It's the same as using Chat GPT except that you can only ask questions that are related to software development.
Commit Message Generation
GitHub copilot makes it easy to generate commit messages from within VS Code. Just click the sparkle icon next to the commit message text box.
Agents
At the time of this article there are three agents Workspace, VS Code and Terminal. Agents setup the context for the chat panel and allow copilot work in a sandboxed environment of your code.
Workspace Agent
The GitHub Copilot @workspace agent enhances code suggestion capabilities by analyzing and understanding the entire context of your workspace, enabling it to make informed recommendations that align with your project's architecture and dependencies. It supports project-specific customization and advanced refactoring, improving code consistency and quality across multiple files.
VSCode Agent
The @vscode agent allows you to ask questions about VS Code. It uses the documentation for VS Code to find your answer and guide you with instructions. For example you could ask @vscode how do I change my theme
Terminal agent
The @terminal agent allows you to ask question about terminal commands or even create commands. For example you could ask @terminal how do I commit using git
Follow the Sparkles
The last feature is to follow the sparkles. Anywhere you see a sparkle give it a click and see what GitHub copilot can do for you.
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